Scott Monahan ’11 (Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting) returns to Shenandoah to serve as an artist-in-residence for Shenandoah Conservatory’s acting program from Sept. 14, through Sept. 21. During his visit, Monahan will connect with students across a range of university programs, including acting, musical theatre, theatre design and production, film, and composition. He will also host several screenings of his feature film “Anchorage,” followed by a special Q&A for students.

“Anchorage” will be presented at 8:15 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20, as part of Film Club’s Lost Weekend Film Festival at the Winchester Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. This year’s festival features four days of independent films, international award winners and documentaries. Two Shenandoah Conservatory students will perform a piece from the film’s score before the movie.

“Anchorage” was Monahan’s directorial debut and was shot in five days in the California desert with a cast and crew of 10 people and a $20,000 budget. Despite its modest beginnings, the film went on to win eleven awards and ten nominations at seventeen film festivals worldwide, most notably taking home the German Independence Award for Best Feature Film and the Best Actor Award at the 2021 Oldenburg International Film Festival.

After its festival run, Monahan produced a theatrical tour that started at Laemelle Theaters in Los Angeles, before progressing to The Music Box in Chicago, Cinema Village in New York City, and a two-week run at Curzon Cinemas in London before releasing on video on demand in September 2023. “Anchorage” was a Top 3 most popular streaming title on Rotten Tomatoes, next to “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.”